Things My Students Say: Headache

So you can imagine, as a teacher, I hear all sorts of random and crazy things coming out of the mouths of teenage students on a pretty regular basis. Usually, I just laugh and move on. But sometimes, the things they say are so funny that I have to stop and write it down so I can share it. I wish I was making this stuff up....

Student: [walking into class] "I'm going to get a headache today in this class."
Me: "What makes you think that?"
Student: [while pointing to both temples] "Because when I think, I have this sharp pain that goes through my brain."

While holding back laughter, I told her she probably shouldn't say that aloud again....

Friday Favorites

Every week I share things from around the internet that put a smile on my face in the hopes that they will put a smile on your face too. So, without further ado...

this cute picture posted on the Single Dad Laughing Facebook page

this awesome video of a guys singing a capella

these adorable moose and fox pillows from iviebaby 

this blogger's take on how blogland is like the movie Mean Girls

this hilarious video about the craziness of #hashtags

these candy corn oreo truffles have me craving something sweet

these gorgeous green quartz earrings

this list of the weirdest state laws

(who knew men in Florida can't wear strapless gowns in public??)

and this map detailing the most screwed up thing about your state

and one that will make you cry. seriously, grab the tissues before pressing play...

Fotolanthropy Fotostory: Evan's Family - A Father's Love from Fotolanthropy on Vimeo.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend! Dan's working this weekend, so I'll be spending two quiet days at home getting caught up on grading and lesson planning. Can't believe we're a little over a week away from the end of the first grading period being over!

Life Lately: A Snapshot

The other day my real-life teacher friend, Danielle posted a quick snapshot of what was going on in her life. I thought it was a great way to quickly share what was happening lately, so why not play along? 

Making breakfast (if pouring a bowl of cereal counts?).
Cooking this recipe from Pinterest later for dinner.
Drinking a tall glass a milk.
Reading Cornell notes my students turned in last Friday.
Wanting a vacation. Nothing fancy. Just time away for a little while.
Looking at my pile of grading and feeling overwhelmed.
Playing.... who has time for that?
Wasting time writing this rather than grading papers.

Sewing would require me actually knowing how to sew. :)
Wishing I could go back to sleep.
Enjoying the peace and quiet.
Waiting on 6 o'clock to roll around so I can start getting ready for work.
Liking the fact that we have an assembly today, oddly enough.
Wondering when/if I'll ever get caught up with everything that has been piled on me at work.
Loving the idea of cooler weather (for Florida standards) coming soon.
Hoping Dan doesn't get a late call tonight and can come home on time.

Marveling at the idea that Dan and I have been married nearly two years already!
Needing to get to work a little early so that I can get stuff ready for today before the faculty meeting starts.
Smelling the air freshener that just went off. 
Wearing my pajamas and robe.
Following the blogiversary happenings over at the first blog I started reading and crossing my fingers that I win their weekend getaway giveaway.
Noticing that I need to start wrapping this thing up...
Knowing I can only do so much in a 24 hour period, I need to stress less and just do what I can.
Thinking about all that time I wasted at Common Core workshops only to be told our state is pulling out.

Feeling a little overwhelmed.
Bookmarking YouTube videos that I need to download for upcoming lessons, like this one.
Opening up a page to check Pinterest sounds more appealing than checking emails right now.
Giggling at the fact that Periwinkle has moved from her normal spot on the couch to sleeping inside our empty laundry basket.
Feeling like I'm ready to tackle the day.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Friday Favorites

Recently I have come across articles, videos, and photos lately that have left an impression on me. So, I thought, why not share them? Even better, why not try to turn this into a weekly thing?

A few bloggers that I follow do something similar where they periodically share things they have found around the internet with their readers. And, you know what? Those are some of my favorite posts! They help me discover new bloggers, look at things from a new perspective, and introduce me to ideas that I would never have discovered on my own.

So, the plan? Every Friday (talk about accountability!) put together a little wrap up of the things that have put a smile on my face throughout the week in the hopes that they will put a smile on your face too.  So, without further ado, the first Friday Favorites.....

this amazing speech given by a Georgia Tech student

a mother's take on teenagers and social media

this amazing house for sale in a nearby neighborhood that I will never afford

(doesn't stop the dreaming though!)

the idea that every class, not just every student, has a unique personality

one blogger's take on Miley Cyrus and her VMA performance

an elementary school teacher's list of ways teaching has ruined her

a fun take on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

this master bedroom paint job has me itching to get into our own home so we can fix it up

the 21 true struggles of Floridians who move out of state

thoughts on living in a 24/7 world and how that applies to students and homework

Best Pillow Ever

A few months ago, I was out shopping with my mom when she mentioned that she hated her pillow. She was tired of buying a pillow that was nice and firm only to have it become flat and unsupportive in a matter of weeks. Been there. Done that. More times than I care to admit.

Anyways, as we were walking through Bed Bath and Beyond, we came across this pillow:

Mom fell in love with the pillow, but not with the $60 price tag. That was a lot of money down the hole if the pillow didn't work out.

A few weeks later, I decided to pick up that pillow (along with my 20% off coupon) and gift it to mom for Mother's Day. What sealed the deal? A store employee told me that my mom would be allowed to return the pillow if she didn't like it after a week or two. Who ever heard of returning a used pillow?? But, with that reassurance, it was a no brainer to go ahead a pick this up for mom.

At first she was hesitant to accept the gift knowing the price. But after reassuring her that if it didn't work out, she could easily return it, she was very grateful for the gift.

For weeks, she raved about how much she loved her new pillow! Said it was the best pillow she had ever slept on and that she was falling asleep faster and staying asleep longer than she had before. And, she wasn't waking up with kinks in her neck from sleeping in an awkward position.

Fast forward a few months. Mom decided to return the favor and bought the same pillow for me as a birthday gift. Knowing how much she loved her pillow, I couldn't wait to try it out for myself.

Since we bought our Sleep Number bed, my back aches had pretty much disappeared. But, I was still occasionally waking up with neck soreness due to my pillow. That neck soreness sometimes translated into an early morning headache. And, let me tell you, that's a crummy way to start off your day.

I've been sleeping with my new pillow for about a month now, and let me tell you, it's amazing! I seriously can't explain how much better my sleep is at night. I don't wake up as often to fluff up my pillow. I'm not waking up with aches and pains in my neck. I just wish that I had broken down and paid the money a long time ago to upgrade to a nicer pillow rather than buying cheap pillows over and over again every time they became flat.

So, if you've been hesitant to purchase the more expensive pillow for fear of it not working, let me be the one to encourage you to go for it. I don't think it'll be a purchase that you'll regret.

Disclaimer: I was not paid or perked by Brookstone or Bed Bath & Beyond to write this post. Honestly, I doubt they have any idea who I am or that this little blog exists. My opinions are totally my own and I felt like sharing them in the hopes that it might help someone else making the big decision to purchase a relatively expensive pillow.

New to Us

I mentioned in a recent post that Dan and I were going to be picking up a pair of couches that we found on Craigslist. To recap, when we came back from a conference in Orlando, we realized that one of our cats decided that our green loveseat was the perfect place to relieve themselves. Since cat urine is a pain to get out of fabric anything and we hated the loveseat anyways, we decided to get rid of the loveseat and start looking for a couch to replace it. And of course Craigslist is the first place I looked.

In the "Nearby Areas" results was a listing for a Tidafor sofa and loveseat. The seller was asking $300 for the pair. Considering they sell retail for just under $1000, the price couldn't be beat. They looked a little worn in, but that was okay with us. And even the fact that the sellers had cats didn't bother us considering our cats were going to be laying all over the sofas too.

But, there were some logistical things we had to figure out. Like the fact that the sellers lived an hour and half away. And the fact that we didn't have a truck to move the furniture. Plus, we weren't sure that Dan and I could get the sofas upstairs by ourselves. And, we can't forget about the fact that these suckers are huge and we weren't quite sure how they would fit in our living room.

Luckily, the sellers were willing to hold onto the furniture until the next weekend when Dan had a couple days off. We thought about renting a moving truck to get the sofas home, but the seller recommended looking into the trucks at Home Depot since their rates are much cheaper. Brilliant! And, between the husband of the seller offering to help Dan move/lift the sofas into the truck and Dan bribing a friend of his with free lunch if he'd come help him lift the sofas upstairs, we didn't have to worry about whether I was strong enough to lift the furniture upstairs.

So, Saturday night we drove over to our local Home Depot and picked up a rental truck.

The next morning we woke up early and headed south to pick up the sofas. We had bought a tarp and some tie downs to keep the sofas in place. Luckily, the bed of the truck was wide enough for both sofas to fit side by side, so we didn't have to worry about stacking them. We did have to pull over three times to re-secure the tarp, but otherwise, the trip back was pretty uneventful.

After moving the green loveseat out onto the landing, the boys got both of the sofas upstairs and in place. Since our living room is a little tiny, we had to angle the couches to get them to fit.

Let me just say, these are the most comfortable couches I have ever sat on. They are deep enough to curl up into the corners and enjoy a good book. And, they are long enough to stretch out on and take a nap (which I've done a couple times already this week).

I am so glad we found the room in our budget to pick these guys up. Here's a rundown of our final cost:

Sofa & Loveseat:   $300

Rental Truck:   $74

Tarp:   $0 (originally $20, but returned it because it had massive holes in it after an hour of use - ridiculous!)

Tie-Downs:   $25

Tank of Gas:   $50

Pizza for Lunch:   $16 (with coupon code)

TOTAL:     $465

That's still less than the cost of the loveseat brand new!

We are so happy with our new-to-us sofa and loveseat!